Feline plasma cell pododermatitis

54 Feline plasma cell pododermatitis




INITIAL PRESENTATION


Swollen and haemorrhaging footpads in a cat.



INTRODUCTION


Feline plasma cell pododermatitis is an uncommon inflammatory disease of the footpads. Its precise aetiology is unknown. The disease results in swollen, discoloured and sometimes haemorrhaging footpads. This case report describes a case of plasma cell pododermatitis in a Maine Coone.




CASE PRESENTING SIGNS


A 2-year-old, neutered male Maine Coone was presented with a 5-month history of footpad swelling and haemorrhage.



CASE HISTORY


On occasion, owners may be unaware of when the lesions first developed, because the cat is only presented when there is evidence of lameness, or haemorrhage, due to footpad ulceration. The disease has a tendency to wax and wane.


The history in this case was as follows:


• There was a 4- to 5-month history of footpad swelling and ulceration, which started in early summer.

• There was no history suggestive of systemic involvement.

• There were three other cats in the household that were unaffected.

• All cats were confined indoors.

• The cat was fed a good quality, complete dried cat food, with meals and water to drink.

• Flea control consisted of monthly applications of fipronil to all cats in the household.

• Routine annual vaccinations and antihelmintic therapy 5 months prior to the onset of skin lesions.

• There had been no visible improvement of the footpad lesions following 3 weeks of broad-spectrum, systemic antibacterial therapy with clavulanic acid potentiated amoxicillin.


CLINICAL EXAMINATION


The characteristic clinical feature of feline plasma cell pododermatitis is soft spongy swelling of multiple footpads. The central tarsal and carpal pads are most frequently affected. The pads often have what is described as a violaceous hue and are cross-hatched with white striae (Fig. 54.1). Initially, the condition is asymptomatic but ulceration may develop in some cases, leading to lameness and sometimes copious haemorrhage. In very long-standing cases where there has been marked footpad ulceration, large masses of granulation tissue may protrude from the ulcerated surface of the footpad. Occasionally, cats may present with concurrent plasma cell stomatitis, manifested by bilateral, proliferative, ulcerated lesions over the palatopharyngeal arches. Swelling over the bridge of the nose and nasal planum due to a plasma cell infiltrate, concurrent immune-mediated glomerulonephritis and renal amyloidosis have also been described.


image

Figure 54.1 Footpad swelling and white striations.


The clinical signs in this case were:


• No abnormalities were detected on general physical examination.

• Examination of the feet revealed soft swelling of the central footpads on all the feet, with thin white striae over the affected areas (Fig. 54.1).

• The pad on the right forelimb was most severely affected, with a healing ulcerated area (Fig. 54.2).

You may also need

Tags:
Sep 3, 2016 | Posted by in SMALL ANIMAL | Comments Off on Feline plasma cell pododermatitis

Full access? Get Clinical Tree
Get Clinical Tree app for offline access